Bit Line Equalizer Layout Using Horizontal Gate Configuration
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional bit line equalizers in semiconductor memory devices face challenges in maintaining precharged bit line voltages while integrating transistors, leading to increased transistor height with more complex layouts.
Innovation Solution
A bit line equalizer with a layout structure featuring line-shaped gates and strategically placed contact nodes that maintain precharge voltage across bit lines without increasing transistor height, utilizing a gate configuration that interconnects parallel gates and positions contact nodes to ensure efficient precharging and equalization.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If transistors are formed with conventional layout structures (⊥-shaped or _-shaped equalizers), then the bit line equalizer can perform precharging and equalization functions, but the height of each transistor is unavoidably increased
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transforms the conventional vertical transistor layout into a horizontal configuration by extending gate electrodes in the first direction (length) rather than stacking them vertically (height). The first and second gate electrodes are arranged side-by-side in the first direction, with their source/drain regions extending in the second direction perpendicular to the first, effectively trading height for length to reduce the vertical dimension while maintaining the equalization function
Solution Approach 2:
The bit line equalizer is divided into multiple independent gate electrodes (first gate electrode, second gate electrode, third gate electrode) that can be independently controlled. Each gate electrode has its own control electrode, allowing segmented control of the precharging and equalization processes. This segmentation enables the function to be distributed across multiple smaller components rather than requiring a single tall transistor structure
Data Source
AI summary
A bit line equalizer includes a first line-shaped gate extended in a first direction, a second line-shaped gate spaced apart from the first line-shaped gate by a predetermined distance and extending parallel to the first gate, a third gate configured to interconnect the first gate and the second gate, a first contact node located at one side of the first gate, a second contact node located at one side of the second gate, a third contact node located between the first gate and the second gate and located at one side of the third gate, and a fourth contact node located between the first gate and the second gate and located at the other side of the third gate.